Alexandria City Council members expressed concerns about proposed changes to the School Resource Officer program that would give police direct access to student information during a lengthy discussion at Tuesday’s legislative meeting.
The debate centers on updates to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) and the Alexandria Police Department (APD) regarding School Resource Officers (SROs).
Deputy City Manager Yon Lambert presented the proposed changes, noting that most public input has focused on one section of the MOU dealing with information sharing between schools and police.
“Most of the input that we have received on the MOU is related to section 5B in the MOU, the information sharing section,” Lambert said. “This section outlines the way that schools and the police department share information.”
The most controversial change would grant SROs direct access to student directory information, schedules, and addresses, eliminating the need for school administrators to serve as intermediaries.
Police Chief Tarrick McGuire defended the proposed change, citing situations where immediate access to information is crucial.
“Depending upon the environment and the circumstances, I see the school as a community, and our SROs are part of that community,” McGuire said. “We have students that are victims of crime at times, their parents are the suspects. There are also times that we have active, ongoing investigations that result in violence.”
McGuire emphasized that in emergency situations, timely access to information is critical.
“In those environments, which I’ve been a part of in my career on two occasions, there can be massive panic and chaos where the police need to bring about immediate order to make critical decisions to identify persons,” he explained.
Several council members expressed reservations about the proposed changes, particularly regarding student privacy.
Councilman Abdel-Rahman Elnoubi questioned whether the expanded access is necessary.
“Were there situations in the past where we needed this kind of access that this language provides, and the lack thereof caused any harm?” Elnoubi asked.
Mayor Alyia Gaskins raised concerns about the broad definition of educational records under federal law.
“Understanding just how broad the definition or potential definition of educational records is, that’s concerning to me,” Gaskins said.
Councilman John Chapman suggested the issue stems from communication problems between ACPS administrators and police officers.
“The challenge that I have with this is that it seemingly removes the responsibility of ACPS admin to get you information,” Chapman said. “I think with this partnership, there is an expectation of us, but there’s also an expectation of our partner.”
Councilman Canek Aguirre, who requested the discussion item be added to the agenda, conducted a detailed review of the entire MOU, offering numerous suggestions for improvements.
Aguirre noted that the process feels rushed and suggested asking the School Board to extend the timeline for finalizing the agreement.
“I feel that this entire process has been a little hurried,” Aguirre said. “I’m going to call our counterparts on the school board and ask that they try to push us out so that we can have that additional conversation.”
Council members also expressed frustration that no ACPS representatives attended the meeting to participate in the discussion.
“I think we need to take the leadership to get our school board liaisons and their leadership back into some understanding that they need to be in the room for these conversations,” Chapman said.
Lambert explained that the city had invited ACPS representatives but faced scheduling conflicts.
The MOU updates stem from recommendations by the School Law Enforcement Partnership (SLEP) 2.0 subcommittee, which met five times and provided recommendations in June 2024. The subcommittee recommended aligning the SRO program with the “Triad model,” which views school resource officers as law enforcers, educators, and informal counselors/mentors.
Lambert clarified that while the SLEP subcommittee did not specifically recommend the controversial information-sharing provision, staff included it to align with Virginia’s model MOU and the Triad approach.
As an alternative to the current proposal, Lambert suggested modified language that would limit SRO access to “student names, addresses, photographs and schedules” with the requirement that “this information would be kept confidential in accordance with the confidentiality requirements of FERPA.”
The current MOU is set to expire this year, as these agreements are typically updated every two years. Lambert noted that an extension of the current agreement is possible while discussions continue.
No formal vote was taken, but Lambert committed to compiling council members’ questions and suggestions into a “compendium” to share with both the council and ACPS.
Mayor Gaskins emphasizes the need for a better process moving forward.
“I think we really got to figure out a way to improve the process here,” Gaskins said. “I feel like we can’t be in the same space again.”
